Disc o’ Pop for Atari 8-bit computers | Review
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Seemingly simple graphics, digitized sound and addictive action make up the formula for “Disc o’ Pop,” a game that took second place in the retro contest organized by the Atari Bit Byter User Club (ABBUC) in 2020.
This is an improved port of «Gimme Friction Baby», a strategy and skill game published in 2007 by the Dutch Wouter Visser, under the direction of Christian «Irgendwer» Kruger (Germany) -who has in his file other notable conversions such as «Dizzy! The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure» (Code Masters, 1987) and «Stunt Car Racer» (MicroProse, 1989).
DISC O’ POP
Published by: Berlin Softworks. Code: Christian «Irgendwer» Krüger (Germany).Genre: Strategy/Skill.
Extra: 1 player, joystick or keyboard.
GAMEPLAY DYNAMICS
You have a cannon, which moves from side to side, to shoot spheres at the top of the screen. The goal: make the bubbles collide with each other to destroy them and earn points; but if any of them bounce under the lower red lines, it's game over.While Disc o’ Pop is played with just one button – or if you wish, by holding down the Shift key – it’s not enough to just shoot at random, nor are quick reflexes valid. The game requires you to stop and plan each move, so you’ll have to use your imagination and patience – and hope for some luck – to avoid hearing that pathetic voice of yours.“Game over, man. Game Over!”
ASSESSMENT
Don't be fooled by what meets your eye: Krüger has managed to get the little Atari to correctly calculate the speed of the spheres, the angle of bounce, the size of the expanding bubbles and the number of collisions, among other factors. Still, the apparent weakness of the game's functional graphics is more than compensated for by the digitized music and voice for a truly great combination.You're bound to fail to the point of paroxysm. However, you're bound to play it again and again, in a vain attempt to break your own record or earn the coveted medals for specific achievements.
THE MEDALS
While part of the gameplay experience is figuring out what medals exist and what they mean, Krüger provides some hints at Atariteca's request. These collectibles - found on the sides of the canyon - are earned under specific circumstances.
At the bottom, from left to right:
- When you score exactly 1 point (pop 1 sphere), this does not happen, for example, if you first score 2 points in a turn.
- When you score exactly 10 points in one turn (you pop 10 balls).
- When the "bullet" (sphere you shoot) lands exactly on the upper limit.
- When the "bullet" lands exactly on the lower limit.
- When you score 2 points in one turn (you pop 2 balls with 1 throw).
- When you score 3 points in one turn (pop 3 bubbles with 1 shot).
- When you pop 20 discs on the playing field.
- The mysterious eighth medal, which no one has yet won…
«Irgendwer» clarifies that these medals are earned in a single turn and according to the requirements stated above. For example, you can only get the 10-point medal if you manage to score exactly 10 points in one turn. «Having 9 points and destroying 2 spheres with one shot adds up to 11 points; which would mean that there is no possibility of getting that medal in a game like this», he points out.
DEVELOPMENT
Krüger tells us that the idea for the conversion began in 2011. Since then, and while working on other projects, he developed a small library for fast graphics routines - like this oneLine drawing code he shared on AtariAge– and even more importantly, a quick routine for drawing circles.The concentrated phase for programming started in early 2020. “Using cc65 – a free C compiler for systems based on the 8-bit 6502 microprocessor – I was able to achieve some results quite quickly,” he says.
He notes that there are no floating-point data types in cc65 for math calculations; but since these would be very slow anyway, he produced a small wrapper for fixed-point math. “The basic idea is that you handle, for example, a 32-bit data type (long) as a 16-bit value and it is a 16-bit fraction. This way, I was able to use all the “normal” library functions for math. Apart from one exception: I had to implement a square root function, which was missing. My first version in C was fine, but needing a bit more speed, I later created an assembly language version of it.”
He admits that the collision math drove him nuts anyway. “It took a little while until it stabilized and all the collisions combined were detected correctly.”
As for music and voice acting, Irgendwer notes that he originally wanted more graphical effects, but sacrificed them for digitized audio samples, as they add too much to the game's atmosphere.
As for the medals, he says that it was an idea that came to him rather late (3 or 4 days before the deadline for the ABBUC competition). “But I think the game is a bit more interesting this way.”
If you generate large discs, try to hit the side walls so that the rebounds clear the screen.
Try to hit at least one bubble each turn. Otherwise, the playing field may fill up with balls too soon.
• Krüger admits that there is still a very rare case, in which the "bullet" can get caught between two objects.
• TheThe ABBUC website has a section called “Hall of Fame: Disc o’ Pop”with the highest scores obtained by the players.
• The drum beat you hear is asample of the song «Wonderful Life»by British synth pop duo “Hurts.”
• Regarding the hilarious line you hear every time you lose a game, it was originally uttered by Corporal Hudson - a character played by the late American actorBill Paxton - in the movie "Aliens"(Century Fox, 1986).
As for music and voice acting, Irgendwer notes that he originally wanted more graphical effects, but sacrificed them for digitized audio samples, as they add too much to the game's atmosphere.
STRATEGIES
The most hardcore players recommend avoiding large spheres; one recommendation is to aim our initial shots so that they bounce off the top corners.If you generate large discs, try to hit the side walls so that the rebounds clear the screen.
Try to hit at least one bubble each turn. Otherwise, the playing field may fill up with balls too soon.
CURIOSITIES
• The "bullet" that the player shoots is, in itself, just a character that is printed using«Seitensprung» - an ASCII file viewercreated by Krüger himself in 2010 - the other letters are used for texts, points, medals.• Krüger admits that there is still a very rare case, in which the "bullet" can get caught between two objects.
• TheThe ABBUC website has a section called “Hall of Fame: Disc o’ Pop”with the highest scores obtained by the players.
• The drum beat you hear is asample of the song «Wonderful Life»by British synth pop duo “Hurts.”
• Regarding the hilarious line you hear every time you lose a game, it was originally uttered by Corporal Hudson - a character played by the late American actorBill Paxton - in the movie "Aliens"(Century Fox, 1986).
The Berlin-based programmer expresses his gratitude to all the voters who helped “Disc o’ Pop” take a well-deserved second place in the competition. “It was a close competition, with many entrants throughout the year. So I would also like to thank all my colleagues who made the competition so challenging and interesting,” he concluded.
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